…is not a truck, as Ted Stevens would have you believe.

Today (Black Friday) and yesterday’s (Thanksgiving) flurry of posts and tweets surrounding gratitude and the holiday have inspired me to create my own short list of things to be grateful for in 2009 as the year comes to a photo finish.

Despite what many are calling a disaster of a year business-wise, I’ll choose to focus on the good of 2009. What you focus on expands, and I’ll start at the top. These are the things I am thankful for: Read more

Aaron (my business partner) and I have developed a comical practice when considering the choice to either
go ahead with a decision or hold back and wait things out.

Both of us have had the fortune of being coached by Tony Scelzo of Rainmakers, who has had a distinctive impact on a lot of business professionals. Let’s say they number in the thousands (because they do). Read more

Motivational speakers often comment on the importance of your “why” and understanding exactly what your “why” is for doing the things you do. Until very recently, I think I’ve had lots of trouble actually enacting this kind of vision into everyday life in a way that is meaningful to my activities.

This post is a little more personal than things I usually write, so if you’re not at all interested in learning more about what makes me tick, you might go back to Hulu and be happier for it. Read more

Last month I had some new ideas thrown at me from Tony Scelzo at Rainmakers. At the Rainmakers Main Event, Tony’s presentation had a strong center point on the subject of “making someone greater than you.”

To give some background, accountability is a common discussion among entrepreneurs. We have so many ideas on seemingly life-changing goals, business concepts and social agendas that it is often hard for us to focus on one. It’s both a blessing and a curse. The strength allows a constant source of creativity, but the character flaw rears its ugly head as a deficit of attention to executing fully on any one endeavor. Read more

I’m curious to consider how many times readers have been asked this question in the past week, specifically in regard to their professional career. The overuse of the question “How’s that going for you?” has repeated itself (a lot!) in it’s own sarcastic fashion. I’ve noticed in in TV shows, movies, but even more dangerously in everyday conversation. Especially in an economic downturn, commentary that focuses energy on a sarcastic or negative aspect of personal or professional growth can be deadly. Read more